Associates of Dolphins owner Stephen Ross tell the Miami Herald that Ross has "seen enough improvement" this season to retain GM Jeff Ireland into 2013.Ireland appeared to be on a short leash as the season opened, but Ross and the Dolphins' upper management are encouraged after a mostly competitive season with rookie Ryan Tannehill showing promise at quarterback. "He sees progress," said a friend of Ross. The Dolphins are 6-8 after Sunday's win over Jacksonville. Miami will close out the season at home versus Buffalo and at New England.

We're 4-3 at home right now. That's the biggest turnaround this year. The last three seasons we've had a losing record at home. That's simply unacceptable for a franchise that is struggling with attendance issues. The best way to sell tickets is to win. If the Dolphins keep winning at home and start to get where they're consistenly over .500 every year, then the fans will slowly come back.

While I'm still skeptical of Ireland, and I still want to see how this seasons ends, I'm not surprised to see that Ross is retaining him. Even with his inconsistent record.